Event Planning – A Guide

The Key Stages of Organising an Event.
When organising any event there are many aspects to take into consideration. While throwing a party sounds exciting and easy there are factors you need to take into consideration. This nifty guide is here to take you step by step through the main stages of planning an event.

Organise a Team
Planning an event can be a very big undertaking by yourself. You may excel I some aspects but not in the key areas. It is always helpful to have a team of trusted people around you to help with the planning process. People with different strengths are a real asset to any team. Although working in a team is great, there should be clear rules and everyone should be aware of their role in the team.
Roles you may want to consider:
• venue management
• speakers
• entertainment
• publicity
• sponsors
• volunteer management

Establish a Budget
Your budget should incorporate estimates for all of the key items identified on your Event Master Plan. Don’t forget to include any travel or accommodation costs for speakers, presenters, etc. You need to be realistic with your budget. There are other ways to raise capital and advertisement opportunities –Identify and Establish Partnerships & Sponsors
It can be beneficial to find out if there are any organisations that you could partner with or ask for sponsorship. This can also help increase participation and/
or ticket sales. When you involve other people or groups in your event with financial aspects, they will have a reason to help spread the word and make your event a success.
You might want to consider:
• Asking business for donations this could include –
• sponsor a dinner
• offer a door prize
• gift bag items
• silent auction item
• table decorations
• Partnering with community organizations who might be able to offer a venue and/or staff an eventEvent Development
When planning an event, you need to know what you’re aiming to achieve. Is it for charity? Personal? Is there a theme? Before you start planning take into consideration the time of year, the kind of guests and possible venues. If you’re planning a beach party in outside in winter, you may need to rethink. Think themes and food and drink. Making a mood board can really help as it can help you visualise.

• Venue, logistics & catering management (contracts, permits, insurance, etc.)
• Speakers/presenters (identifying, confirming, logistics & management)
• Activities/entertainment
• Publicity/promotion (online & off-line, e.g., web page & online promotion; events calendars; printed programs; media relations; signage; social media, etc.)
• Registration (online sign-up, payment and tracking; on-site sign-in, etc.)
• Sponsor/partner management
• Volunteer managementSet a DateWhen you’ve got your basic outline you need to set a date.
If you are looking for specific venue you may have to work around their calendar more than your own. Try to keep the date in with your theme. As we’ve stated before a beach theme in December is not going to be popular! Once the date it set invitations can start to be drafted and you have a deadline for the work you need to do.
Setting a date can be difficult and there are considerations you may not have thought of such as:
• You should have at least 4-6 months to plan
• Be aware of statutory and religious holidays
• Work dates with key participants – e.g., speakers, presenters, VIP guests, etc.Define the Event
By now you should have your theme, it should be timely and compelling. Your theme should be what sets you apart from any competition. This means that you need to come up with an overall image for your event. This means a name, logo and marketing techniques that will help you on social media.
• When deciding on the event name, think about:

• how is your event different from other events in your sector?
• what are you hoping to convey through this event?

• Create a slogan. Try to think of something catchy that says a little something but is memorable and conveys the tone of your event

• Design logo: Logos can be an effective branding tool – offering recognition of your event in all of your publicity

Administration
You need to keep track of your planning, registration, budget, guest and speakers lists, etc. You will need to set up a process to ensure everything is in place and organised. You may want to invest in software to help you along the way. Human error is very common during this process so it’s always better to err on the side of caution.

Create Publicity

It doesn’t matter how great your event is going to be if nobody knows about. You could have the best theme/guest/speaker and with no promotion you are not going to do well. Start small and in advance, build up suspense. Use an initial teaser promotion on your page or your website. Once a date and venue has been established post

updates and physical promotion such as flyers etc. Make it easy to take part by being clear on price and involvement from the beginning. Remember to issue out the post-event thank-you’s, sponsor acknowledgements and articles. This will encourage people to work with you/your team in future events.

Were you successful?
Now your event is rolling how will you work out if it has been successful?
Are you trying to sell so many tickets? Make money? If so what is your target amount?
The goal of your event should have been set in the beginning stages of planning, this should make it easier to monitor success rates.
Ticket sales and money raised is quite easier to track and there are systems you can use to monitor them.
But, if the objective of your event is to raise awareness, it is harder to see if it has been a success. You will have to find a way to track social media posts or interest shown. Devising your own # and asking everyone to use it if they post can be one way of keeping track on different forms of social media i.e. #savethepolarbearsevent2016

Do you want to learn how to plan a spectacular event? Or maybe helping other people achieve their dream day is yours?

Why not study an event planner course with us? Study at your own pace and learn the vital organisational and planning skills to create a stunning event everyone will be talking about.

This course is designed for people who wish to start their own business as an event planner or work in a event planning company. With units that cover all of the main aspects of working with clients to budget and plan the entire event process, the qualification is extremely useful and relevant to a event planner’s day-to-day duties.

In this course cover an array of interesting topics; ranging from the personal qualities that are required to Starting your own business. We look at different types of event and at different scales.

ABC Awards is a leading national Awarding Organisation, regulated by Ofqual, and the Welsh Government. It has a long-established reputation for developing and awarding high quality vocational qualifications across a wide range of industries. As a registered charity, ABC Awards combines 180 years of expertise but also implements a responsive, flexible and innovative approach to the needs of our customers.